"But Americans love a quick fix, and some doctors make a lot of money providing it. Many experts predict the study will not drastically cut the number of angioplasties that are done unless insurers balk at the $40,000 cost and force patients to try drugs first."

""People want their chest pain to go away right away. They don't care about three years, they want it gone tomorrow," said Dr. Christopher Kramer, a University of Virginia heart specialist."

"At issue is angioplasty, in which a tiny balloon is snaked through an artery and inflated to flatten a blockage. Mesh tubes called stents are usually placed to keep the vessel open. It is the gold standard for treating heart attacks and worsening symptoms that land people in the hospital. Doctors say no one who has chest pains should delay seeing a doctor."

"But in recent years, angioplasty also has become popular for treating patients with chest pain who aren't in imminent danger ? despite the fact that no big studies ever proved it better than medications alone."

"This week at a cardiology conference in New Orleans, doctors presented results of the first big study to test this. It found that
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